Commemorating the 115th Birthday of KA-BAR Knives, Inc. of Olean, New York

Details

Actions

Jun 18, 2013: ADOPTED

Jun 18, 2013: REPORTED TO CALENDAR FOR CONSIDERATION

Jun 14, 2013: REFERRED TO FINANCE

Text

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 115th Birthday of KA-BAR
Knives, Inc. of Olean, New York
WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge certain exemplary companies that strive to
provide superior products within this great Empire State and throughout
this great Nation; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 115th Birthday of KA-BAR Knives, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, On April 29, 1897, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a
group of 38 men formed a Limited Partnership, known as Tidioute Cutlery
Company, to manufacture and sell cutlery; and
WHEREAS, The formation of Tidioute Cutlery Company is now widely
considered to be the origin of KA-BAR Knives, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, The first sales of cutlery in 1898 mark the beginning of
KA-BAR Knives, Inc., as it is known today; and
WHEREAS, Experiencing financial difficulties, the Tidioute Cutlery
Company was dissolved at the turn of the century; in January 1902,
Wallace R. Brown purchased the assets of the company; and
WHEREAS, By March of 1902, a new association headed by Wallace Brown
applied to the Governor of Pennsylvania to form a corporation, to be
known as the Union Razor Company; and
WHEREAS, On January 25, 1909, Wallace Brown and the Board of Directors
decided the company's name was no longer representative of its expanding
product line and changed its name to Union Cutlery Company; and
WHEREAS, Shortly after the company's name change, in 1910, the City of
Olean, New York, approached Wallace Brown and the company's Directors
and proposed the company relocate its operation to their city; and
WHEREAS, Within one year, the Union Cutlery Company began efforts to
move the company; a new State of New York corporation was registered as
the Union Cutlery Company, Olean, New York; and
WHEREAS, With the Olean facility operating successfully, the Tidioute,
Pennsylvania plant was closed down and by 1912, operations were in full
swing at Union Cutlery Company's new location in Olean, New York; and
WHEREAS, The company's name "KA-BAR" dates back to the early 1920s
from a fur trapper testimonial; in his testimonial, the fur trapper
wrote that while trapping, his gun jammed leaving him with only his
knife to kill the wounded bear that was attacking him; and
WHEREAS, The trapper thanked the company for crafting a knife of such
exemplary quality, however, the letter was only partially legible, with
"k a bar" readable as fragments of the phrase "kill a bear"; honored by
the testimonial, the company adopted the phrase KA-BAR as its trademark;
and
WHEREAS, Each KA-BAR knife undergoes a unique manufacturing process
and is tested to ensure corrosion resistance, strength, edge holding
ability, and an out-of-the-box razor sharp cutting edge; and
WHEREAS, The United States Marine Corps KA-BAR knife is a legend in
the world of knives; first adopted in November 1942, it was one of the
general issue knives used by the United States Marine Corps in World War
II; and
WHEREAS, The United States Marine Corps knife quickly gained populari-
ty, and today, KA-BAR also makes Army and Navy versions of the United
States Marine Corps knife; and
WHEREAS, A customer-centered focus with an eye on crafting state-of-
the-art cutlery is at the core of the company's success; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to publicly recog-
nize and honor milestones in the history of businesses in this great
Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 115th Anniversary of KA-BAR Knives, Inc.; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to KA-BAR Knives, Inc. of Olean, New York.

Comments

Open Legislation comments facilitate discussion of New York State legislation. All comments are subject to moderation.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity or hate speech;
or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Comment moderation
is generally performed Monday through Friday.